Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Teams in the Teixeira Mix

Jayson Stark is reporting the following teams to be in the running to land Mark Teixeira: Diamondbacks, Angels, Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers and Yankees. Also, according to Stark:

According to teams in this mix, the Braves aren't necessarily insisting ongetting a first baseman back, but they've made it clear that's their preference.And if they don't get a first baseman in return, they still are prioritizing abig league-ready bat as the centerpiece of any trade.

Given that Teixeira will be a free agent for whom no negotiating window will be provided, his value isn't terribly high for trade purposes. The floor is certainly the value of the two picks the Braves would get were they to keep him and let him walk, but are the Dodgers really gonna give up James Loney? Are the Diamondbacks really gonna give up Connor Jackson? Are the Angels really gonna give up Casey Kotchman? All of that seems way too high a price to pay for a guy with a third of a season left under contract, and the alternatives -- the Chad Tracys of the world -- aren't exactly the kinds of players the Braves need to be building around.

I'm kind of a moron when it comes to handicapping trades, so somebody tell me: what can the Braves really expect from these teams? I honestly can't see what teams would reasonably offer for Teixeira, and I really can't see is why the Braves would limit themselves to "first basemen" or "big league-ready bats" when the narrow swath of players that implies would seem to minimize, as opposed to maximize their return.